History of Christmas Cards
For my weekly post on decorative arts, I thought I’d write about material culture and the history of card writing and of Christmas cards in particular, since I finished sending mine (shown here) just last week! I’m interested in the study of “material culture” since it explores the relationship between artifacts and society. Christmas cards are certainly a cultural artifact, reflecting our collective interests, decorative tastes, social aspirations and beliefs.
This post was prompted by coming across George Buday’s The History of Christmas Cards when I popped in to Heights Books this afternoon. It is my favorite bookstore, the place I go when Tim’s out of town, when I’m lonely, killing time, or looking to get lost in the world of ideas. It was here that I discovered Japanese gardening at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, that interior decorating (something I had previously held in some contempt) could be about making were you live home, and fed my obsession with stamps.
The “first” christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley, an English designer, in the 1840s.
A quick comparison of my Christmas card to the one of the first commercial cards made in England in the 1840s shows both similarities (a non-religious image and greeting) and differences (my card is much more abstract, whereas the earlier card shows images of Dickensian poverty, my card is personalized, and printed by hand). More on material culture at a later date!
January 19th, 2007 00:13
The Heights bookstore is totally great – I always find something I never expected there.
January 18th, 2007 23:17
I love your Christmas card! I got so many generic cards this year – all those photos of perfect babies and smiling families are nice but all the same! Your card is so cheery and clever!